Category
Knots and Connections
A knot has one job and a surprisingly large number of ways to fail it. These are the knot profiles, connection choices and comparisons for figuring out what belongs between the two things you are trying to keep attached.
Everything filed under this heading, newest first.
Worth opening first
- Which Boat Knot for Which Job, Before Your Favorite Knot Gets a VoteDocking, mooring, anchoring, and the one you tie in a dark parking lot at five in the morning.
Narrower headings inside this one
How to Tie a Cleat Hitch That Still Comes Off in One Flick
Far horn first, clean figure eights across the middle, one locking hitch. Stack six locking hitches on a cleat and you’ve built a knife job for the exact moment the boat needs to leave.
Round Turn and Two Half Hitches Work Even When the Line’s Already Pulling
Most hitches need slack you don’t have when the current’s got the bow. A full wrap around the piling soaks up the pull first, so the two half hitches go on easy and come back off after a night of strain.
How to Tie a Dropper Loop That Doesn’t Wrap Your Main Line
A Dropper Loop hangs a second fly or bait off the middle of your line without cutting it. Pull the branch shorter than feels right, wet it, and count droppers against your local rules.
How to Tie the Homer Rhode Loop Knot in Heavy Shock Leader
When leader is too stiff for a tidy loop knot to seat, the Homer Rhode just jams two overhands together. Size the loop before they meet, and feel for plier scars after.
How to Tie the King Sling Without Picking the Wrong Gap
The King Sling twists a doubled line into several gaps that look the same, and the working loop only locks through one of them. Trace that path with a finger before you pull anything tight.
How to Tie the Kryston Non-Slip Loop Knot in Mono, Not Fluoro
The Kryston Non-Slip Loop has tested very well in monofilament and poorly in fluorocarbon, and you can’t feel the difference while tying it. Check the spool first, then hold the loop size while it closes.
How to Tie the Perfection Loop So It Sits in Line, Not Cocked Off
Two overlapping loops, one pulled through the other, in an order your fingers won’t warn you about getting wrong. Watch a pair of hands tie it, then hold every one up to the sky.
How to Tie the Spider Hitch When There’s No Time for a Bimini
Fish are up and the double line isn’t tied. The Spider Hitch gets you one in under a minute, as long as you count braid wraps and don’t ask it to survive a long heavy fight.
How to Tie the Surgeon’s End Loop at Last Light
When cold fingers won’t finish a Perfection Loop, the Surgeon’s End Loop still will: double the line, tie an overhand, send the bight through twice. It’s bulkier, and you count the passes before you pull.
How to Tie the 100 Percent Arbor Knot Before a Fish Finds Your Backing
The 100 Percent Arbor Knot doubles the backing before it locks around the reel arbor, so two strands take the load. Pull-test it hard before any backing goes over it, because that’s your last look.